k the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

[ music ] >> this is the "full-court press," "the bill press show," live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: all right. now, it's 26 minutes after the hour here on the "full-court press" trying to get our handle trying to get a handle on the story of mantao tao, the line backer who was just exposed as a part of a great big fraud that he perpetrated on the american people as far as i am concerned. he says somebody hoaxed him. the other question here is how did these sportswriters, all of them, fall into this. peter what's going on, on the social media world. >> on buzzfeed, they compiled some writers who did articles on

it. ao and afterwards saytao and afterwards say. yesterday, the writer said here is the transcript of my interview with him. i want you to know what i said. there were some very fishy quotes including, when the writer asked him what does your girlfriend study? tao said she graduated in 2011, 2010 or 2011 like he doesn't even know when she graduated. the writer said what was her major? he said her major was in english and something. i will have to double check. and on herth death the writer says, how did this happen? tao said it was just so sudden. i don't know the details of it. it was just a surprise. the writer said hit by a drunk driver? what were her injuries? tao said, i don't know. she had a lot of different injuries. if this is your girlfriend the love of your life, you know these details. >> howie kurt's points out all he had to do was make a couple of phone calls. right? >> yeah.ad to do was make a couple

of phone calls. right? >> yeah. he said she went to stanford t no record of her at stanford. she was reported hit by a drunk driver. there is no record of any such accident, her death or any obituary or any funeral or anything. sten in the bronx, new york hey, steven. >> hey, good morning. >> what do you think? >> caller: what i want to say, i am not saying this to be nasty or any way. i think he is gay and he has created this elaborate cover. when i first saw him, my first thought was, he is a big dude but there is something soft about him. >> bill: well, you know he could have concocted this whole story about a girlfriend the imaginary girlfriend just to cover up the fact from his teammates and notre dame that he was gay. >> this is "the bill press

show." iq will go way up. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

>> chatting at you live at current.com/billpress, this is the bill press shows, live on your radio. and current tv. >> here we go on a friday morning, january 18th inauguration weekend here in washington, d.c. hotels filling up. people coming in by train, by plane, by bus, walking into the inauguration, the reinauguration of the barack obama. we are talking about this bizarre story with a notre dame

linebacker man'tao, caught in or himself perpetrating a hoax about this long-time special girlfriend of his in california who decide of cancer and it turns out she never existed. was he lied to, or was he lying? we will continue to take your calls about that and your comments on twitter. call us again at 866-55-press. of course, back to that in just a second but you heard me talk before about try ancestry.com and all of the fun i have been having on that site tracing my own family and i can tell you it's -- there is a lot of information there and it just got bigger. just learned today that ancestry.com is now up to 11 billion historical documents you can get access to and 41 million family trees already olbermann. it sounds like a lot of stuff and may be complicated to wade through.

it's not. i can tell you. you go in, in and you give them a name maybe of your grandfather and you tell them you want to search like military records or birth records or death records or immigration records and pop. they will give you whatever information they have on your family. carry despiting a lot of fun. they will gulf you two free weeks to try it out. visit tryancestry.com. see what you can discover with two weeks free. visit tryancestry.com. >> lots of comments about man on it. ao tao. and what should the media have done differently while covering this story >> bill: maybe made a few telephonecalls she was special. she was a fairy god mother.

barbara says he is no different than others who lie to get what they want. he will make a great politician one day. on the reporters and journists that missed this story, said they missed it because nobody thinks someone would make this story up. >> also, because we put our professional -- or not professional. we put our athletes on the pedestal. so many stories about againspots figures when are we made these believable stories. how many times have we fallen for this? >> when the story came out one of the writers said, i looked to see about the girlfriend. yes find a death certificate. i asked him about it. he said will you please let this rest? the family has suffered enough. the sports writer as a human being said okay. i will back off.

if you listen to the things the buzz feed got together about he didn't know her major. he didn't know the details of how she died dw 1776 says there are many gay guys in sports that do strange things to cover it up. >> well, also there are, look, okay? who hasn't lied about a girlfriend. right? or who hasn't died -- lied aboutit. you exaggerate, let's say, the closeness of your relationship to your girl, whatever. you know, look. we have all done that. girls and bodies too. >> this is a college kid. college kids do dumb things. >> the question is: did he -- was he lied to? right? or was he lying?

i don't see how anybody in his position could have believed believed -- i mean, could really have believed this. i mean it's just, again, he never met her. supposed she has a car accident and she gets leukemia and she gets it adds a result of a car accident? nothing as up. and she is in a coma and he is on the phone with her eight hours a night. just to listen to her breathe. and then she dies and he doesn't go to the funeral. he has never laid eyes on this girlfriend? come on. come on if he spent these hours on the phone with her while she was in a coma fine. show us the phone errors. they exist if you were on eight hours every night, let's see them. >> again, see your calls. we will get to them in a second. howie kirtz talks about every

time he just sort of dismissed it like he called stanford called a coach at stanford who checked the alumni records or something. right? this girl. she is not there. he says, hum, gee, that's strange. the reporter says, well, maybe they made a mistake and left her name off of the roster. no. then you make another call to the actual stanford records to find out: did she graduate, a person with this name? there was never a person by that name enrolled at that university. adrian is out in akron, ohio. what do you say? >> hey bill. >> do you believe him? >> love your show. i think it's more of a snow job. i feel like a bunch of the reporters who like originally reported on this story, i mean at the beginning of the season

they all jumped on the band wagon. you know, they just really want to write the story and all of these things that you could easily verify. you could have easily like called and said, hey, is she dead or called and said hayes, you know the date. you know the name. they would have told you the person was dead. she wanted to pretend like oh, my gosh, i can't believe this actually happened. the body is already in the car. it's starting to mold. >> but ulcyou know, also he is a famous player? right? for notre dame. he is a famous linebacker. you would think if this girl on campus was having a quote, unquote affair, somebody would know about it. there would be a little buzz. the coaches said they never heard anything about this at all which, again, should have been

fishy. i got it adrian. i don't believe a word he says. the heels of the lance armstrong thing, big fat liars. we believed the lance armstrong story a long time. you know why? i did because he denied it over and over again. he kept winning. ron -- and he beat cancer. >> yeah. >> cancer is the thread here hey, ron. how are you doing? >> good. how are you. >> what do you think? >> to peter point first with the high school heismann trophy. it amazes me they are named before the college football season starts which begins that process of. >> we know who the can datas are. >> bill: really? >> yeah >> caller: then to the whole point they were talking about,

it just stretches the bounds of beliefability. you want to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, but the more that comes out, it just stretches the bounds of believable abilitity will this work against him or will they go on his playing ability? what do you think? >> for the nfl, they will go on his playing ability. the nfl won't care. >> there are some real scound realized in the nfl. >> michael vick? >> someplacing in the nfl, they have records and they have done things way worse than what manti te'o may have done or probably did. but where this makes a difference, i think, is an nfl team will draft him, but he is probably going to have a really hard time with endorsements and you can make a lot of money off of endorsements. so i mean who is going to want to have him endorsing their

product if this turns out to be true? >> he may find it easier to get a boyfriend now. >> there is that. >> brendan is calling from philadelphia. what do you see say? >> this is all about the high schoolman. this is not aboutheisman. this is not about. let me tell you why i think that. if he was covering up the fact that he didn't have a girlfriend and he didn't want people to find out, he is a mormon. he could play the mormon card all day long. the problem is that's a real boring story when it comes to the heismann trophy. so he had to cook up this personal tragedy thing with this friend of his. if you read the article, he is so tied in with this kid that they found who has created it, they did this toechlth i am sure that notre dame was in on it. i am sure that his publicist and everything like that was in on it. his currently shop is going to tumble because of it. there was a twitter. there was a tweet yesterday from i just thought -- it said it was

an nfl executive. he said we will draft a felony but if you lie to us we will drop your name in the garbage can. >> wow. >> that's cool. >> that's interesting, yeah. right, but, you know, you had another point, brendan which is the role of the university here certainly, the university knew this, the 26th of december, now i am not sure they were part of the hoax, but they were part of the cover-up. >> yeah. >> they did not report that this was all -- and they knew of the story way back before the beginning of the year. you know what? we have been blasting a lot of the mahmoud i can't. kudos to the deadspin that is that correcty sportssnarky sports blog. somebody did their job. how about it? >> radio meets television "the bill press show" now on current tv.

government is going to help you fund your healthcare. really? i want to have those conversations, not to be confrontational, but to understand what the other side is saying, and i'd like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table.

this monday morning current tv presents special coverage of the presidential inauguration. the circumstance & the inside analysis. the presidential inauguration this monday morning at 10 eastern only on current tv.

[ music ] >> this is the "full-court press," "the bill press show," live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: it's 12 minutes before the top of the hour back on the big topic of the day, common sense measures to deal with gun violence. announced by president obama and vice president joe biden this week. no doubt, the american people are on their side. latest poll out this morning by the "new york times" and cbs, 92% of americans supporting the universal background checks. sixty-three per se percent, 53%

supporting a ban on assault weapons. everybody is for these things except the nra and the gun manufacturers. but who is fueling and funding the gun manufacturers? >> one big question congress may be looking at but bill de de blazio, the public advocate is ahead of these. he is on this case and joins us this morning on our news line. mr. public advocate, good to have you back on the show. >> hi, bill. >> hi, bill. thank for having me. >> we know that the nra -- right, is the lobby now nothing but the lobby for the gun manufacturers. who is behind the gun manufacturers? what have you found. >> who is behind the nra? the gun manufacturers. the nra has that chokehold on the political process and the legislative process in view of house they pointed that out.

who is funding the gunfire industry? some of the biggest names in the financial industry. many of whom are based here in new york city or have offices here a couple of days ago, we went out in front of tiger management. but there are many others including black rock and big names that we found are very deeply invested in the guvenz and ammunition industry. we figured between these 12 terms, there are gob to -- 12 firms, there are gob to be 12 that we call, of course, the dirty dozen. 1.5 billion in investments in guns and ammunition industry. i am talking about investments in the actual company that created the weapons on the civilian market used in the most horrible recent massacres, tucson and newtown and aurora. companies like sturm rooser

owen, smith & wesson. they are being backed by huge investment officials >> bill: these are wall street firms, hedge funds or whatever where people buy in to and they may not know? right? part of their portfolio is funding the manufacturer of these assault weapons? correct? >> that's exactly right and, you know, the amazing thing, i think when you look under the hood of the economics of the gun industry and how we got to this point, what you find is this shocking business asub reality and this really has to be undone now. this is the moment. we all understand because of newtown, tragdelibecause of newertown, the focus and the energy is there finally. but we have got to follow the money to use a well quoted phrase. both public pension funds, which we talked about before and that

we are acting on here in new york and california we have to stop the flow of public money into the gun industry through investments. the piece we are working on now is some of the biggest names in the american financial industry routinely include in their investment mix, you know, the same companies that are part of the problem. again, they are not just part of the problem because they create the guns and ammunition. the mil grade weapons and put them on the civilian market but even more part of the problem because they fund the political apparatus in the nra that keeps everything stuck in place the way it is now. >> so are you calling on -- have you called on these -- the dirty dozen, as you call them, to divest their holdings in these gun manufacturers? >> caller: absolutely. we see evidence that the public pressure is already beginning to rattle them. what we are saying to them is get out of the guns and ammunition industry.

provide your clients with options that have no guns and ammunitions investments in them. we will try to parallel that obviously again with the public attention funds to do the same. divest. we think this creates powerful momentum, both to force the industry to start to change its ways and change its aappropriate to the nra. but it sports all of these legislative efforts not just -- it supports all of these legislative efforts. great here in new york >> bill: yeah. >> caller: we have to create that momentum all around if we expect anything to change. if it isn't changing on the economic front, it won't change on the political front. >> bill: quickly, bill. i am serbrus got headlines. have they done so? what's the story there? >> you asked the right question. they say they are going to. some of the other companies we raised attention on are saying we are not going to take the pressure off until we see the

actual physical transactions other and the changes occur. >> okay. >> one last thing, individuals want to make sure their own investments are not in guns and ammunition. we have a tool on our website that's www.advocate.nyc.gov. any individual can use that to make sure how their own personal investments are gun free. >> we will put a link up on our website to that and a link so everybody can see the names of this dirty dozens. bill de blasio hard-charging public addvocate for the city of new york thank you. >> bill, check it out at advocate.nyc.gov. we will have a link up on our website. >> this is "the bill press show."

cook what you love and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

[ music ] >> this is "the bill press show" >> bill: here we go. some quick e-mails. wayne says, let me think. wasn't there another mormon that would say or do anything he wanted to campaign to get an honor or a high position? who would that have been? >> hmm patrick says joe heismann went so far as changing the pronunciation of his last name. it used to be pronounce heez-man. >> sports fans here on the bp show have confirmed that is true. >> that that is true.

>> this is "the bill press show."

[ music ] >> bill: good friday morning, every way. it is friday, january 18th. good to see you today. welcome. welcome to the "full-court press" here on current tv. your progressive morning show bringing you up to date on everything that's going on this morning all the way from the hostage situation in algeria to republicans huddled in their retreat trying to figure out how to deal with the debt ceiling.

congressional republicans that is. and here in washington everybody gearing up for the big inauguration. meanwhile, very striking cbs/"new york times" poll out this morning revealing that the american people are overwhelmingly behind the common sense new measures to reduce gun violence unveiled this week by president obama and vice president biden, 92% of americans saying they support a universal background check. 63% support a ban on high-capacity magazines. 53% supporting a ban renewing of the ban on assault weapons. the american people are ready for action. on another front, two high-profile celebrities proving that they are nothing but big, fat liars today. lance armstrong lying about the tour de france and manti te'o lying about his girlfriend. all of that coming up right here

on current tv. right have, about the "heavy hand of government" ... i want to have that conversation. let's talk about it. really? you're going to lay people off because now the government is going to help you fund your healthcare. really? i want to have those conversations, not to be confrontational, but to understand what the other side is saying, and i'd like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table.

these talking points, that the right have, about the "heavy hand of government" ... i want to have that conversation. let's talk about it. really? you're going to lay people off because now the government is going to help you fund your healthcare. really? i want to have those conversations, not to be confrontational, but to understand what the other side

is saying, and i'd like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table. >> broadcasting across the nation and on current tv this is "the bill press show". >> in the latest poll, 92% say they approve of a background check. let's do it. great to see you today. welcome to the "full-court press" this friday morning, january 18th. good to see you today. we are coming to you live from our nation's capitol. >> that's washington, d.c. in

case you didn't know. we are right down the street from the united states capital building where everybody is geared up, ready to go, excited for the reinauguration of the barack obama on monday at 12:noon. we will be there, of course booming out to you on your local progressive talk radio station and on country t.v., bringing you the latest right from the scene. peter ogburn and i, we have seats right up alongside of the first lady. >> not quite that close, but almost. almost. for monday morning. >> lots to talk about from the hostage situation in algeria to the continuing efforts to figure out what we are going to do about the debt ceiling to the big new discussion here in washington, d.c. about guns and sensible gun control measures. and the unbelievable story of manti te'o. all of that. we will take ule calls at 866-55-press.

joining us in studio the director of communications to get the title correct for the national education association one of the proud sponsors of the "full-court press," ramon a oliver. thank you for coming in? >> thank you for having me. >> how is our good friend dennis van roekel. >> he is fabulous. >> he is a party animal you know. it's early for him. >> this is his normal time when he is unand around. >> it's true. he does come in pretty early. >> he has been in often. right? at this hour. >> yeah. he is still the math teacher at heart. he is up at the crack of dawn getting ready to teach. >> i guess you can't take that schedule out of a teacher. >> no. not at all. we have the whole team here this morning, peter ogburn dan henning. phil bachus has the phones and cyprian, videographer

extraordinaire. before we get back to the issue of guns and schools, very interesting. it surprised me yesterday, an announcement by the american cancer society. this is dr. lynn lichtenfeldt on some amazing progress in this area. no cure yet, but progress. >> the biggest good news is that since 1991, we have had a 20% decline in cancer death rates here in the united states. >> i want to talk about that. you here so much about cancer in normal people, but more and more people obviously surviving. >> yeah. >> cancer because of advances in medical treatment. but, also dr. lichtenfeldt said something else responsible for this death in cancer rates. >> clearly because people are not spokemoking and not using tobacco anywhere near as much as they did, both men and women have had a significant decrease in lung cancer deaths for

example. >> that's remarkable since we have really cracked down on smoking. right? >> yeah. >> 20% reduction. a lot of those does? >> that's stunning. >> that's a big, big chunk. >> yeah. >> do think for all of those years people were smoking and now we know the facts on it. >> yeah. >> you keep wondering like maybe what other dietary changes. right? or environmental or things that we do to ourselves, right? that we could change and improve and even get that death rate. >> see where we are in another 20 years, you know. >> there it is. we want to find out about what teachers thing aboutthink about the nra's idea of arming every teacher in our american schools. we will talk about that with ramona oliver about that cindy borin, a blogger for the washington post will join us and in the next hour john nichols

from the nation magazine will be in as a friend of bills. we get back to schools and guns but first, the headlines. >> check headlines with the news on this friday, a crash and burn for the start of american idol. the fox show's 12th premier saw its lowest viewership ever 18 million people tuned in, which is down 19% from last year's premier according to entertainment weekly and last year was the lowest ever opening before this week. as high as those 18 million viewers sounds, it's not even the most watched show this week. ncis, tuesday night on the cbs had 23 million viewers. >> it's over. pull the plug. >> correct me if i am wrong. these are the usually the ones with the highest rate the first ones. >> especially the premiere because they hype it for two months. >> i didn't watch. >> downhill fast. >> i did. >> you watched?

>> i did. i have been a huge fan. >> from the beginning? >> yes. >> you still are. >> oh, my gosh. you like the new format? the new judges? >> the whole kind of cat fight thing put me off a little bit but i love the idea of anybody could sort of walk off the streets and become a star. >> that's amazing. >> you love watching those train recognize because they are really bad, some of them. >> you know, i studied theatre. i was a performing artists for a long time it takes so much guts even an audience of four people and perform. i think. >> are you up next season? >> you can sing for us now. >> no. dance was my thing. >> okay. >> that was many, many decades ago. >> lance armstrong continues to take hits for doping. the latest is enter the national olympig committee taking his bronze medal.

they sent him a letter asking them to send the metal bag to them. it will not be reallocated. the bronze will simply be left empty for the fourth place finisher will for the get upgraded to the bronze metal. >> kick hill while he is down. not that i feel sorry for him. >> cry me a river? >> there is a new study out showing what networks president obama called on the most during his 36 solo press conferences in his first term. abc got the most questions. obama calling on that network 29 times. cbs, number 2, with 28 questions followed by the associated press, nbc and bloomberg rounding out the top 5. our good friends at fox news way down at number 9 on the list. >> number 9? >> number 9. >> wow. i thought he called on associated press first. he usually does. >> uh-uh. >> they are not number 1 though? i didn't see current tv on the list. >> weird. >> you are the white house

reporter for current tv? >> i will raise hell. we don't have much time left either. >> 36 times next week. so, it was so stunning, ramon a in the wake of the newtown tragedy when the nra didn't say anything for like a week and finally, came out and everybody says what are they going to say? are they going to finally come to their senses and say, we recognize we have to do something to keep these awe salt weapons out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them and protect our children and they said, no. no. no. what we need is to make every classroom an armed camp basically. i have been wondering. i was so glad they are here today. what the do teachers thing about this idea of, you know making them armed guards basically? >> the short answer is, it's a really bad idea. we, the national education association, represents about 3

million educators from classroom teachers to junetors, to bus drivers. we did a hole of them last week to really listen to what they had to say about that proposals, about some of the gun violence legislation that's been proposed. only 22%. overwhelming majority 50 something % of our members strongly opposed the idea of arming educators, putting more guns in schools is not the conclusion to this problem. first of all, the idea you can't just like hand these guns out. right? if you were going to follow this whacky idea, you would have to decide, like, what kind of guns? right? what kind of liability or responsibility they would have, where did they keep this gun? i am sure? >> yeah.

>> you have considered all of these questions. right? >> the liability issues are just human unhumongous. but before you get to the excuse me, strange person. i have to get my gun out of the lockbox. >> you are not going to keep it in your definitely loaded access where kids could -- >> the whole colorado concept is a little ludicrous and i think the response of the american people to the nra proposal was just disbelief that they would be so disconnected from what the real solutions need to be that they would think that trying to put more guns in our schools would actually solve this problem. i think most people don't believe that's true. i think a lot of nra members don't believe that's true. >> that's what was so interesting about the press conference when wayne lapiere got up there and started peeking for american schools and saying, we need to have more armed guards in schools. i think people looked at him and go, what do you know about that? like, how does he become an

authority on that issue? >> you know at the same time, parents really do want to believe that the school is a sank wear? right? they droop their kids off? >> yeah. >> those rids can going to be safe. thing. they don't have to worry for that next six or eight hours about their kids. something like this happens and it shakes their confidence in a lot of parents for schools. what are the solutions? >> first, schools are probably one of the safest places that our students, our children can be. i mean they are still overwhelmingly safe places itch a school not in school yet. almost two but as a parent -- >> he will be graduating from college before you know it t? >> god. and i am just trying to live until kindergarten. but the problem is, you just respond to a crisis as opposed

to prevent it. and, you know, if you have -- and a lot of these unfortunate tragedies are young people who have been pushed to the edge, who may have mental problems who may have been bullied. if you are seeing a child or student or an adult who has gone so far down that dark path and the only thing you are doing to respond is to either a, try to keep the gun out of their hands or be able to meet them with another gun, you failed. you know, we need to keep people off of the path in the first place. >> that's why when dennis and the educators were called on to give their guidance to the vice president's task force on gun violence -- >> they did meet with the vice president? >> yes, they did. and what we know is true is that there is respond to go a crisis and the crisis happened whether it's hurricane sandy, it's gun violence, it's

violence, it's gang violence, you need to be prepared and anticipate those kind of acts and be able to prepare to respond to them but more importantly, you have to work to prevent them. >> that's why the recommendations that we put forward really emphasized four key things: being able to expand access to mental health care. you have the situation in new town where clearly the perpetrator there had suffered for some time either undiagnosed or untreated. >> uh-huh. >> that was a major factor that led to that tragedy. >> as well as in aurora colorado? >> yeah. >> or tucson. columbine was also an instance where bullying played significance. increasing the programs and training for educators and students that help prevent violence that help circum vent violent behavior like anti-bullying programs, being able to upgrade school

facilities, being able to have security doorstion being able to have buzz-in doors, that infrastructure is part of creating safe secure learning environments. and then being able to really look at the personnel that you have in your school that helps support students. from training for teachers in the classroom to the other adults who are in the classroom because there are so many adults there besides the classrooms the classroom teachers the school bus drivers, the janitors, you know, the shooting at the high school in california, it was a teacher and a campus supervisor who really talked down that student and prevented lots of further violence. that kind of training is critically important. i mean, look at in this time of crisis when states have slashed budgets and taken so many resources out of schools, some of those resources are school counsellors, school

psychologists, social workers, and now, where you might have had a school counselor per school, maybe dealing with two or 300, some of the ratios now for school psychologists, for example, is one to 1,000. you can't possibly provide the kind of support for students. plus, then, you also have counsellors who as opposed to providing critical support services are spending large majorities of their time coordinating tests other than providing services students need. >> if a question is, if a gun, an armed teacher in every classroom is not the answer what is? we are talking with ramona oliver, the senior director of communications for the national education association. you parents as well have some ideas about this, i am sure. give us a call at 866-55-press, the full court press friday morning. >> this is "the bill press show" show."

presents special coverage of the presidential inauguration. the circumstance & the inside analysis. the presidential inauguration this monday morning at 10 eastern only on current tv. presents special coverage of the presidential inauguration. the circumstance & the inside analysis. the presidential inauguration this monday morning at 10 eastern only on current tv.

alright, in 15 minutes we're going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

>> heard around the country and seen on current tv this is "the bill press show". >> cindy borin has been blogging about the weird manti te'o story. we will talk to her in the next segment. right here, we are talking guns and schools, ramon a oliver a senior director of communications for the nea, national education association. peter, what's happening on the world of social media. >> tweeting at bp show, one person tweeting says a group of kids could tackle and take a gun.

the idea you give every teacher a gun doesn't exactly work out in reality. >> if i were a parent i wouldn't be real comfortable with the fact i knew a teacher, let's assume a good honest teacher ho you to lead a gun in her desk of six-year-olds? not necessarily the kids are out to get guns. fights break out in classrooms sometimes. >> kids are curious and they open doors and pull things out of drawers. two-year-olds do that. >> more guns to curb gun violence is like more drugs to curb the war on drugs. tweeting at bp show. find us there. >> your teachers must care about this issue because in the sense, their reputation is on the line. right? >> very much. i mean, you know, my mother was a teacher for 40 years. my father still is a teacher.

they are healthy happy. >> that's why you see teachers dip into their own pockets who helps a children with no coat or who is filling back parks at the end of the week with food because they know that's the only nutritious thing they will get over the weekend. being able to really make sure that you have safe secure learning environments, i mean teachers are first and foremost teachers. we need to make sure that our schools, our campuses are places of learning. >> uh-huh. >> you know, we couldn't say enough about the heroic teachers who literally put their lives on the line to save these children. >> really american heroes, you know, i was there wednesday when the president saluted them again for those, putting their lives on the line. we are out of time. i'm sorry because we have so much to talk about. you are doing a great job with the nea. to you and all of your members, keep it up. thanks for coming in.

>> thanks so. >> this is bill press show. iq will go way up. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

[ music ] >> chatting with you live at current.com/billpress show. this is "the bill press show," live on your radio and current tv. >> here we go. it's 33 minutes after the hour now here on a friday morning, january 18th. it is the full court press coming to you live from our nation's capitol and your local progressive talk radio station and on current tv, all the way across this great land of ours on the from the international brotherhood of teamsters. under president jim hoffa. we live better because of their

a good work. look at their good work at teamster teamster.org. well two big sports -- despite the hostage situation in algeria and the inauguration this weekend, a big battle now over sensible gun control legislation, two sports stories are dominating the talk this morning about two big fat lie arizona, it looks like: ars, it looks like: lance armstrong and manti te'o. cindy joining us on our news line this morning. hey, cindy. how are you? >> i am fine. how are you? >> all right. did we learn anything? let's start with lance armstrong. did we learn anything last night from oprah we didn't already know? >> no. i mean, you know he came across. i thought it was interesting. he is clearly desperately trying to rehabitate his image to show that, you know, whatever.

it's like a 12-step program that he is sort of playing out here. >> yeah. >> he is apologizing to everyone. and then i found it very odd and very telling, particularly when he was talking about frankie andrews' wife, betsy and he mentioned that, you know but he never called her fat. he admitted the other words. i thought it was strange. i thought it was strange when he mentioned the massa of euse. he called her a prostitute an an alcoholic. it was sort of a light apology. you know what i mean? i didn't really see it as a deep thing. i don't think there was anything new to it. >> in light of some of those comments, and i, watching scott pelley earlier in the week who had interviewed some of -- some of his teammates. >> like tyler hamilton. >> some of the things he told them and the threats he made. he is not a nice guy. >> no. he did admit that. he did come clean about that.

>> uh-huh. >> i can't say that i didn't feel a tiny bit of sympathy for him just because he was admitting to being such a horrible person. >> right. >> you know, the funny thing about it was so many people bought into that. >> right. >> you were talking about the lies. it's a myth. it's the creation of a myth. it's the same at notre dame. >> exactly. >> the myth surrounding, ruddy and all of that and even at penn state. >> yeah. >> whenever sports is out to create a myth, it's not going to work. there is going to be a reckoning reckoning. >> so well put. >> i was going to make that jump from one admitting to the next. >> wir suckers. we want to believe these myths about sports figures. we do it all the time. at a time turns out to be clay

feet. why? >> the point, we do pay attention to that, too. we build them up. >> that's the thing movies are made from, you know. look at, you know, whether it's the blind side or rudy or whatever. the creation of this person who comes from nowhere and, you know, this worshipped, adored athlete, it's the stuff of movies. who doesn't love that? that means that could be you or me. >> yeah. >> we want to believe it. >> manti te'o had to have been part of this hoax. don't you believe? >> you know i am not sure that i am ready to go quite that far yet. >> come on, cindy. >> i do think so. i do deep down inside think so. but i also think that this is a person who is, you know he was

i think he was raised in a very very closeted family. i don't think he has a lot of social experience. he is not a partier. he is not out there interacting with people. i think it's possible that he is very, very socially immature. i am willing to -- i am willing to consider that. now, like you i am deeply deeply suspicious. you know, now that they are saying this friend of his, renai, they are looking at him as the guy who put all of this together. >> yeah. >> because he knew the woman whose photo ended up all over. well, whose photo ended up being used in the hoax that was perpetrated on this kid. now, the other part of the problem is. you know, all of the things that he -- all of the lies he told every step of the way that should have set off multiple alarm bells that didn't. >> yeah, even after -- even after he knew or had admitted there was as hoax when he still said his girlfriend died of

cancer. >> right. >> at this points, he knew the girlfriend didn't even exist. >> that's the weird thing. even if you assume and you believe him that this was all some sort of a hoax, there is still no way that he didn't lie. >> right. he knew about the time of the high schoolman ceremony, around december 6theisman ceremony, around december 6th of the dead non-existent girlfriend on his cell phone. >> that's when the wheels started turning and it became apparent that, you know, something was going on here. he went to notre dame, i think, just the day after christmas and they started their investigation. they had a whole what? 10 days almost, a little over 10 days of publicity leading up to the bcs bowl on the championship game on january 7th. they had a week of investigation that i am going to guess, given how quickly we have all put this together, they started

investigating it the day after christmas, probably two days taff christmas they knew what was up. you know, this wasn't exactly a genius plan here all the he had to do was connect the dots. connect the tweets connect the relationship. >> call stanford and see if there is anything by that name that ever attended classes there. >> i understand it was a delicate situation when, you know, the kid is talking about dead people and nobody wants to be the kind of person who pushes, well, honey, are they really dead? can i see a death certificate but there are basic facts that you can check, you know, if you have a google button as tony kornhausser calls it. you can check this stuff. you don't have to confront the person. >> how do you think the media did? you cover sports. you know this. if you were interviewing a subject who was talking about the love of his life that had passed away and didn't know exactly what her injuries were when she died, didn't know what

her major was in college, didn't go to the funeral, never visited the grave site. >> never met her. >> a problem. >> wouldn't that set off alarmbels? >> yeah. even if he was saying look, you know, the family has been through a lot. let's leave them alone. >> right. >> you would feel the need to follow through. right? >> and i wouldn't actually. i don't mean to throw the particularly the sports illustrated reporter under the bus because he is a very very good reporter. >> totally. >> and his work is really beyond reproach, but, yeah, there are a number of cases. there are a number of points in that story where there should have been a gut reaction that said, you know. >> hello. yeah. >> but, you know, i work in realtime on a blog and there are just any number of moments where i go, wait a minute. let's just pump the brakes here something isn't adding up. all of these reports. you will seal like eight or 10 report of a story that's happening, you know, news that's

braking and you will trach it all and it will all go back to say, maybe, i don't know. a blogger in the city in the midwest or, you know, a radio report and you are, i don't know that person. i don't know their methodology. you know, i am just going to pump the brakes on it. >> yeah. he was i need incredible pressure. his cover story was due hours after he interviewed this kid in september. >> two hours after the interview, it had to be filed. >> another issue with the media and this modern economic environment that we are in, you know, the people who get cut first are the fact checkers. i am sure fact checkers at "sports illustrators," you know and that's tough, too. on the other hand, this wasn't like digging up documents from therage war or something like that. this was pretty basic elementary reporting here and fact checking and you could have turned some

of this stuff up. he didn't know the name of the city. >> cindy boren from the washington post, follow her at the washington post.com or on twitter at cindy boren. before we let you go go ravens this weekend. right? what do you think? both games. >> i like the ravens. i would -- i like the organization. i am living in washington, d.c. why would i not want to see the ravens in the super bowl. i think they are a good story. you know, story smith is one of the great stories in football with his upbringing and his background. i just -- i just don't really think they are going to be able to beat the patriots. i just don't think so. they beat them once earlier this year. >> yeah. >> i think it's tough to beat them twice. it's tough to beat them up there. >> the 9ers? >> they played like a trillion minutes of post-season football. you know i kind of like the

9ers to win in atlanta. i know the falcons are playing really well, but i kind of like the way the 9ers are working right now. i think kapernick is a tough quarterback to stop. >> right. all right. going to be a good weekend. cindy thanks so much. love your work. >> thanks, thanks. >> all right. thank you. cindy boren, early blogger for the washington post. she really knows her stuff. >> she does. >> this is "the bill press show." >> only on current tv. now? you know the kind of guys who do like verse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. >> she gets the comedians laughing... >> that's hilarious! >> ...and the thinkers thinking. >> okay, so there's wiggle-room in the ten commandments is what you're telling me. >> you would rather deal with ahmadinejad then me. >> absolutely! >> and so would mitt romeny. >> she's joy behar. >> and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

>> only on current tv.

this monday morning current tv presents special coverage of the presidential inauguration. the circumstance & the inside analysis. the presidential inauguration this monday morning at 10 eastern only on current tv. [ music ] >> this is the "full-court press," "the bill press show," live on your radio and on

current tv. . >> all right. 13 minutes before the top of the hour, john nickels washington correspondent for the nations in studio as a friend of bill in the next houranding joined by current tv's john fugelsang. on to clips of the week. these are tough times. you may be looking for extra income each month. income at home america's leading work from home business. doing business in over 80 countries today. they know what they are doing. they know this is something you can do no matter your age, education, or experience. you can literally earn money from your own computer from your own kitchentable 24/7, even while you sleep. so check it out if you are living -- sick of living paycheck to paycheck worried aboutjo job security, if your goal is to earn money part-time or full-time, incomeathome.com.

they are giving away a thousand bucks to somebody for checking them out. that lucky somebody could be you. visit incomeathome.com. that's incomeathome.com. peter, what's happening? >> we are tweeting @bp show. we were talking about lance armstrong and his interview last night. not only the fact that he is a liar. he is a jerk. r.d. copeland said lance's wife stuck with him through his cancer. he left her for cheryl crow. now cheryl crow has cancer and lance armstrong left her. is he. >> is he back with his wife? >> no. by the way, i feel compelled to point out that i hated lance armstrong before a lot of you guys did because his wife stuck with him through cancer. at the end, he gets better. what does he do? he left her for cheryl crow. you know he is a generally, a

total jerk. despite the fact he is a liar. >> reminds me of newt gingrich for some reason. it's friday. here we go. yeah. >>. every friday, i like to take a look back at our favorite clips of the week and remind you of some of the outrageous things or funny things. we start at the bottom and work our way up to the top. bill clinton out in california saying, you think i am in good health? you ought to see hillary. >>nu number 5. >> she has always been very health, very low pressure very low standing heart beat. i tell her she has time to have three more husbands after me. >> you go, girl. line them up. but not until i am gone. president obama at the news conference we had with him this week, he was asked about the fact that he has a reputation for being such a stuffed shirt,

and he says, what? me? >> number 4. >> most people who know me know i am a pretty friendly guy. and i like a good party. >> i like a good party. in fact, he went out last night with michelle obama, his wife for her 49th birthday, had a good party at cafe milano. jon stewart has some things to say about lance armstrong and all of the faith that some of us put into lance armstrong, even wearing that dumb bracelet. >> number 3: >> i believed nu-lance armstrong armstrong. i space -- i shelled out a dollar for a rubber let. i did it for you. when i think of the fact that i spent a... >> well, i think we all 0 cancer

an apology. or is that not the lesson. >> lance armstrong giving cancer a bad name. don't you think? >> wow. >> at the grammies tina fey and amy poehler with a lot of current comp temporary jokes including about catherine bigalow, the director of zero dark 30. >> a great year for film women in film catherine bigelow nominated tonight. i haven't really been following the controversus see over zero dark 30 but when it comes to torture, i trust a lady who spends three years married to james cameron. >> that's a great line. a big surprise guest at the grammies was bill clinton, himself, former president who came to introduce the film "lincoln," a favor to his

friend, steven spielberg when he left the stage, amy and tina wanted to be sure everybody knew who that was. >> number 1. >> wow. what an exciting special gift. that was hillary clinton's husband. oh, my god. that was exciting. that was exciting. >> i would have nominated tina and amy to host everything. they are the best. >> who is doing the ausc-arizona this year? do we know. >> mac farland. i would much rather have amy poehler and tina fey. >> seth myers. they are so good. i loved that line about bill clinton. he will be known now as hillary clinton's husband. how about it? when we come back what's president obama up to today other than recovering from the hangover from last night?

we will tell you. >> on your radio and on current tv this is "the bill press show." but when joint pain and stiffness from psoriatic arthritis hit even the smallest things became difficult. i finally understood what serious joint pain is like. i talked to my rheumatologist and he prescribed enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness,

and stop joint damage. because enbrel, etanercept suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections tuberculosis lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores have had hepatitis b have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. [ phil ] get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. @ñ@ñ (vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

[ music ] >> hey. let's take a look a lot what's coming up in the next hour. john nichols, washington correspondent for "the nation magazine." a couple of interesting pieces out lately one about the mythical power of the nra. he said it's not all it's cracked up to be. another story i love about the leading progressives for 2012 in

the senate in the house, in the media, in the entertainment world. some surprises. john nichols will tell us the ones that "the nation" has so identified and we will be joined a little later by john fugelsang here in washington saturday night for the big sexy liberal show in our nation's capitol. in the next hour. what is on the president's schedule today? not a damn thing. he is going to kick back today. there is not even a white house briefing today. i am sure he will be working on the speech is what he will be doing, plus there are a lot of related inaugural events. the only actual scheduled event on the president's calendar is to get the daily briefing with the vice president, which he does every day. today, that will be at 10:15 a.m. back with another hour of the "full-court press," so don't go anywhere. >> this is "the bill press show"

show."

[ music ] >> bill: good morning everybody. welcome to the "full-court press" this friday january 18th. great to see you today. we are coming to you live across this granteat land of ours on current tv bringing you up to date on all of the news of the day wherever it's happening all the way from the hostage situation in algeria to republican members of the house and a little retreat trying to figure out what they are going to do about the debt ceiling.

it looks like they may be softening on that issue. here in washington as the debate over sensible gun control measures. on that front, how about it? the latest cbs poll "new york times" poll shows that the american people are solidly in support of the common sense gun violence measures introduced this week by president obama and vice president biden. 92% of americans supporting a universal background check; 6063 supporting a ban on high-capacity magazines. 53% supporting renewal of the ban on assault weapons. over all 54% of americans say they want action on gun control. so what the hell is congress waiting for. on top of that, we have the big lie arizona, lance armstrong and and. manti te'o. we'll cover it next here on

current tv. right have, about the "heavy hand of government" ... i want to have that conversation. let's talk about it. really? you're going to lay people off because now the government is going to help you fund your healthcare. really? i want to have those conversations, not to be confrontational, but to understand what the other side is saying, and i'd like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table.

these talking points, that the right have, about the "heavy hand of government" ... i want to have that conversation. let's talk about it. really? you're going to lay people off because now the government is going to help you fund your healthcare. really? i want to have those conversations, not to be confrontational, but to understand what the other side

is saying, and i'd like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table. [ music ] >> broadcasting across the nation, on your radio and on current tv this is "the bill press show". >> all right. according to the latest "new york times" poll 92% of americans say a universal background check on all gun sales, of course. the american people want it. what's congress afraid of? hey, hello everybody. great to see you today. it is friday january 18th, and this is the "full-court press." we are coming to you live, coast to coast all the way across this great land of ours from our radio studio here on capitol

hill and our t.v. studio on capitol hill and coming to you both on your local progressive talk radio station wherever you happen to be. if you are lucky enough to have one and on current tv, everywhere in our great land of hours ours. thank you so much for joining us. you know, tuning in is only hal of the equation here you want to join the conversation. of course, we want to hear what these issues mean to you and to your family. you can tell us by giving us a call at 866-55-press at any time that's our toll-free number. follow us on twitter and talk to us on twitter @bpshow and on facebook at facebook.com/billpressshow. a lot to talk about. a lot is happening here in our nation's capitol. on top of all of these issues for ""the nation magazine," john nichols all the way from madison, wisconsin. >> i usually speak to you from my child's excuse me yard.

>> yeah. >> i feel far more sophisticated. >> it's an honor to have you here, joining our team. ? >> a tougher crowd in the school yard than here. >> the politics is a little more intention. actually, they resolve issues more quickly. >> how old is your -- >> she is nine. nine. >> whoa. yeah a young lady at nine. >> the ears were pierced over the weekend. >> really? >> which i realized there is a huge debate, you know my sisters weren't allowed to pierces their ears until they were 15. we have degenerative to that level. >> i think it's okay. some people culturally. i respect all of that. this is peer pressure, all of the things you would prefer your child didn't get into she was

thrilled. so we are going straight toward you know, 9 to 19, you know. >> we have two sons i was fearing the day when one of them would come home with an earring. >> oh, yeah. >> neither one of them want anything to do with it. >> or a tattoo? >> neither wanted anything. it was not that i talked them out of it and they wanted nothing to do with it. >> my daughter want me to get my ear pierced with her. it's a very interesting debate. i am symbol solidarity. >> phil bachus has the phone. s cyprian on camera. everybody was up late watching oprah grilling lance armstrong.

she went into it. okay, baby, none of this bs. just yes or no. here she is. >> yes or no did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycle be performance? >> yes. >> yes. >> yes or no: was one of those badged substances epo. >> yes. >> did you ever blood dope or use blood trans fusions to enhance your cycle be performance? >> yes. >> did you ever use any other banned substances like testosterone, cortisone or human growth hormone? >> yes. >> did you beat your wife? yes. she said did you dope up during every one of the seven tour de frances? he said yes. >> this completely obliterate rates cycling as a sport. doesn't it? it wasn't like lance was saying i did it alone. >> no. >> taking the whole sport down with him. he brought this whole sport up.

who cared about cycleing before lance armstrong. now, who believes in it. >> i give opera credit. isn't it bizarre that opera had the second biggest sports story of the neat? >> that's right. manti te'o is a bigger story? >> how do you do that? it's. >> it's hard to beat a mormonats notre dame who is a liar and probably gay. >> and brings it -- you just said it, and brings in every issue of modern technology. the internet, all of this stuff. >> privacy, the lies. oh, yeah. >> there will be -- i am not sure this is a good thing, but i think there could be college -- not just courses but college departments set up to study this

case. >> we are talking about going over the debt ceiling cliff whatever that is but we are in cycling, dopes, mormon internet daters. >> bill: what's unbelievable is there would be a mormon who would say or do anything to win a prize. >> no. no. or might lie. >> might lie. >> that would never happen in this country. john nichols with us. we have a lot to get into. call at 866-55-press. john, first. >> a big head line for the day. >> other headlines making news on this friday karl rove is not going anywhere. politico reporting fox news has resigned the conservative dementate to the negative work through the 2016 election. another four-year contract. this is not quite his enl embarrassing day. he has been with fox since he left as a 7 ario advisor. >> todd aiken says we won't give

them any money asfter what he said about rape. fox news after this story, they said karl rove is going to go away. bs. come on. >> they feared he would go right over to cnn. i am not kidding you. because the fact is at cnn, he would be a youthful player. at fox cnn to their credit they would pair him with somebody who would disagree with him. at fox, he is just blah, blah, blah. i think they wanted to make sure he didn't go somewhere else? >> roger ailes. >> the president took his wife out to dinner for her 49th birthday last night. he and michelle obama joined by a group of friends at cathfe milano. it's a tradition for the couple to go out. last year they dined at blt stakes. this is a little bit of a further drive. >> i could have recommended 10 restaurants they go to. cafe milano would not have been

on the list. >> they have pretty good taste. they pick good spots. >> delicious spots of the. the first was blue duck tavern. >> that's one of my favorites. >> washingtonian magazine has presidential sites and says this is a relatively young couple in washington d.c. they go out. >> they do. a bugger place right down the street called "good stuff" which is great where they have been and a little bit breakfast place around the corner. frankie -- >> where the press has been. they come around the neighborhood here, too. and there is a barbecue joint about six blocks up the street. the president has been there? >> i want my president to do that. i want my president out around town a little bit. >> and "fortunatee magazine," the number 1 place to work is the bill press show. not quite. google because of the mission,

benefits and workplace culture they have. they have been number 1 for many years. no. 2 is a new company in the spot a southwest company called sas, two full-time artists on their staff to inspire ce creativity creativity. they started an organic farm this year for their cafeteria. >> my god. >> you have to inspire our creativity creativity. >> where is our organic farm. >> i think you have in the break room don't talk about that. don't talk about that. >> the organic farm is in california. plants about this high. >> i have been to the google heart attacks. i would work for google natural new york second. it is such a great place to work. people have such a great time there. it's incredible. so lively.

when you weigh the money as it's coming in, that's a good place to work. this honor roll if you will, you are out with the progressive honor roll of 2012, our john nichols, the most valuable progressive in the nation? >> bernie sanders. bill press but we retired your title. it's bernie sanders. there is a reason why it's bernie sanders. >> he is right about everything? >> it's not just that he is right. when russ feingold voted against the patriot act, 50 or 60 members of the house voted with him. you can be right and there be be a lot of people right. it's the person who can stand up, be right and then go out to the american people and talk about it on a regular basis. bernie sanders is no longer a senator. he is an educator. he spends his time educating. >> we don't have time to go through the entire list.

this is tough because there are allotted of good ones. who is the number 1 member of the house, progressive? number 1 senator, progressive? >> right now, i would say in the house, it's a tough one because there are a lot of people doing great work. >> yeah. >> current sitting house members, i would go with probably keith ellison who has really stepped it up. if you know keith, it's not just that he is good on the issues. it's personality. >> yeah. >> he has a great style i was there where you were sitting a couple of days ago. he is great? >> i heard him. i give keith i am mention credit and in my list, i cited tammy baldwin. she wasn't as noisy as some focus but the key with tammy was this: she voted a straight progressive line. she took very dangerous votes, votes that political consultants will tell you not to vote. and yes yet she got e selected to the senate in a swing state. that's a member for others in the house. but in the senate, i would -- i don't think it's a question right now.

i am powerful struck by the role that geoff murkley from oregon. >> he is a comer. i have been impressed with him? >> he is the man driving filibuster reform. if we get reform of the filibuster -- and i am not sure we will. >> that's a knife-edged question for the next week, it will be largely because geoff merkley whipped it. he got elizabeth warren and other people on board. he continues to presses it in a very effective way. >> let's talk about that because you have actually most recently, written that without filibuster reform, a lot of stuff that we need ain't going to happen. >> you are not going to get -- you are not going to get a change on guns from the congress without filibuster reform. i will tell you why this is so. everybody goes well, john boehner is not going to let that happen anyway. you might be right. here is the deal. you can't begin to have a negotiation between the house andnate on a compromise unless the senate has taken up the bill

and passed it. >> right. >> fillibuster reform becomes critical to the gun safety debate. >> why does it seem harry reid is suddenly back tracking on fist filibuster reform. >> he is a man of the senate. russ feingold remember the real progressive members will tell you harry reid is a liberal guy. he's good. it is not that he doesn't want to open the door for getting things done but he truly is imbedded in this senate culture. >> in this system, this progresses. right? >> folks driving the reform tend to be the younger members. it's just a reality. >> anybody can look at the senate and know that et cetera broken. >> they are in a week position. this is a week position for them. >> for republicans?

>> they lost two seats in a cycle where they should have won five or six. >> bill: right. >> a million.4. gerrymanned gerrymannedering is the only reason they kept the house. their marginalization is clear. the only thing they can do is secretly behind closed doors stop things from happening. we complete the cycle of 2012. >> which is why again i don't understand why harry reid doesn't see this is the moment to act on filibuster reform. we will never hadve a better opportunity. lots to cover here you have written recently gnat that the nra -- it's political power ain't all it's cracked up to be. that and more with john nichols hear this entire hour, washington correspondent for the nation. you are part of the conversation 866-55-press.

today's "full-court press." >> heard around the country and seen on current tv this is "the bill press show." presents special coverage of the presidential inauguration. the circumstance & the inside analysis. the presidential inauguration this monday morning at 10 eastern only on current tv.

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we have a big big hour and the iq will go way up. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy.

just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. is [ music ] >> this is "the bill press show." >> 25 minutes after the hour. the full court press on a friday morning. in studio with us as a friend of bill, john nichols, washington correspondent for "the nation magazine." we see him often with our good friends on msnbc all of the way

here from the republic of madison. >> we have not seceded yet. i loved when austin proposed to secede and come back into the u.s. there was a petition and an austin petition saying if texas ses seeds saying with can he we secede from texas and come back into the u.s.? >> that guess into the whole question for the white house petitions which we might talk about a little bit later. right now, i have to ask you: so, on this whole issue of sensible measures to deal with gun violence, yesterday the "new york times"/cbs poll came out showing overwhelming support of the american people for the measures that the president talked about. 92% supporting a universal background check for every gun sale. they asked: what do you think about the nra? 38% favorable rating which gets to your point that this politico

clout of the nea -- >> nra. >> what am i saying? the nea, we know is powerful. >> let's hopeful. >> the nra is overblown? >> absolutely. >> the media per pets wait it? >> i don't think it's intentional. if you go to the average nra leadership person, they will tell you that the media treats them horribly because in their view, any time a mass shooting is reported, they think that's an attack on the nra. >> they are pretty warped on this and i think media can be critical of the nra but in the power politics that exist today when you are the go to entity when something happens and it is literally repeated on a regular basis, change can occur because this group says no you give a

whole "meet the press" over to wayne lapiere, terrible you know. if if the nra's power is rooted where they were a force, 1994 part of a newt gingrich waive. that was one of the lowest turnouts and gingrich exploited a lucky set of congressal districts. they have ridden that for the better part of 20 years. the last cycle the sunlight foundation found only one % of the money they spent tennessee of millions actually was successful. >> wow? >> 99% say their money is lost. >> so much for the nra. john nichols as a friend of

bill. john mccain fugelsang joins us when we come back. >> this is "the bill press show." [ music ] going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

[ music ] >> heard around the country and seen on current tv this is "the bill press show." >> bill: wow. 33 minutes after the hour. what a great date, friday january 18th. this is the full court press coming to you live from our nation's capitol. that's washington, d.c. >> that's where we are on capitol hill brought to you today by afsmee the largest public employee and healthcare workers' union in the entire country under president lee saunders, a great progressive union.

find out more information about that irgood work on so many fronts at afc mee.org. talk about something active on many fronts, oh, my god, you see him. you hear him on stephanie miller show you hear him filling in as a guest host on the bill press show. he is part of the great sexy liberal tour that hits washington this week. he is host of view point on current tv. the man who never sleeps, jon fugelsang. >> good morning. it's a pleasure to be here. >> it's a pleasew to be with you, sir. >> hey, jon. how are you doing. >> it's great to talk to you guys when i am not trying to usurp billses throne. >> no more than two days in a row. i get nervous. the ted baxter from mary tyler more. he would never go on vacation because he was afraid the best

host would be better? >> i have known a lot of t.v. hosts like that. >> me, too. >> jon, i have to ask you lance armstrong admitted all of his lies. manti te'o has admitted all of his lies. it's time for your confession john. all of your lies on the table here. >> please lance armstrong, somewhere in hell nixon was screaming up: admit it already. mapman hasn't admitted anything yet. we don't know if he was in on the hoax or not. it's an important story. i am glad the media thinks dead hostages are less interesting than fake delled girlfriends in college fall which is what i learned. con cite would have looked at the manti te'o story and said was it a conservative mormon jock? fake girlfriend? gay. my confession is that i secretly go on the road with a bunch of

deviant liberals and that's why we are coming with hal sparks, step knee miller and special gifts i am not allowed at gun points to reveal. >> whoa. wait a minute. we are friends. this is the full court press. we are on current t.v. together and this is friday and your show is tomorrow night. you are not going it tell us the special gifted? >> i think i am allowed to say one works in the hollywood realm and one works in the d.c. political realm. >> that's all stephanie will allow me to say. >> allen grace is showing up. come on. you know the secret mr. mr. fugelsang. >> allen west. >>. >> to be honest he is hilarious. his thorazine flushes itself down the toilet.

>> i don't know if there are more tickets available but this is at the warner theater saturday saturday night? >> it is. >> we go online where to find out? >> sexyliberal.com. we began the tour in response to scott walker almost two years ago in madison and sentence then, the first year we hadbum, the first that was to hit number one of on am zone and we have been joined from lily tomlin to rob reiner to congressman grayson. it's exciting. it's the last show we have on schedule now. we hope you will get to come, bill. it's interesting. conservatives don't like to see liberals dog well at capitalism. they tried to bribe our tour booker $10,000 to quit the tour. they hacked our website twice,

our football. the fireman arm was pulled 10 minutes before curtain. question going to keep on going. >> do they realize we are as greedy as anybody else? right? >> exactly. exactly. some may have realized that in the last month or so. >> i think bill clinton will do a great job. i hope he does. the fact that you got the president and the first lady to agree to show up is pretty remarkable. >> with the nudity as well is impressive? >> only one of them. >> only one agreed to do that. you will have to buy a ticket to find out. john fugelsang with us. follow him on twitter at john fusionel same so when you get over the lance armstrong and when you get over the manti

te'o, there are some other issues we are kicking around this morning. john nichols with a great piece in "the nation" about the nra. this seems to be a moment finally, people are realizing this is -- i wouldn't say exactly an empty suit. >> no. >> that's an insult to men's warehouse. >> but their political clout is not what it used to be. wouldn't you agree? >> it's not. it's important to remember we the people who aren't the nra outnumber the nra and the members of the nra who support same gun control legislation outnumber the members of the nra who don't. frank luntz that not otherous left-wing activist did the poll last july of nra members. we don't know what the numbers are because they count deceased members as being members to keep their numbers higher than they are. 74% of nra members support

requiring criminal background checks. 87 agree support for the second amendment rights keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, the thing wayne lapiere will never address. >> that's what the background check is about. >> there is another thing about the nra that's important to understand. the nra is rooted predominantly in rural areas. people join it for a couple of reasons. i grew up in a small town. i used to make shells with my grandpa in the basement. we would go do scoot shooting. you join for the program to learn to, to do gun safety integrated in a lot of schools. there are a lot of programs for hutting. join the nra to get access to scants at sporting goods stores. you don't join it toprovide guns

for school children. >> jon, i am sure you met him, bill de blasio, a great guy. he has identified of course we know the nra is not repping the people i did. they are representing the gun manufacturers. bill deblasio has identified the wall street firms that are funding the gun manufacturers, the dirty dozen, he calls them, who are pupingly awe of the money into these gun manufactures, manufacturing the guns that were used in aurora, colorado, and in newtown, and he is calling for them to divest themselves of any, you know, money that they have got in these firms, an approach i think is important? >> the nra things common sense

needs a background check. every mailing you get tends to be eric holder and barack obama are coming for your guns. >> door to door. >> no matter how many times hannity chyrons it they are not going to take them or your fake online girlfriends. the thing at the bottom of everything is the fundraising. they have been ustion fear. i recommend everyone sub describe to the nra to understand the brainwashing they do to hustle their members out of their bullet money. it's about fear the state is going to come and you need these weapons with nay palm when they come to take your guns away which no one in this administration ever suggested they wanted to do. david king talked about it, all of president obama's proposals were al door to door -- >> this is insane. >> david keen doesn't even believe that. david keen was like an aide to bob dole.

steve stockman who got the extra dose of crazy as a member congress, he will introduce an impeachment resolution. and the nra will fund raise off of that. this is the thing. there has been a been a good amount of writing by david fromme about the right-wing as a racket, as an operation they don't care whether they win or lose. they like to take on crazy issues that can get 10, 15% of the people to give them money whether the nra continue to choose to be a racket, go for the money or choose to try to remain age organization of gun owners. if they don't, i think they will

get beat again and again and again, state after state because they are so far from the mainstream. >> talking down their own site. that was the great joy of this past election day was the morning after the democrats swept most of the the races in country, you know the cokekoch brothers and sheldon adelson that karl rove and the rnc had redistributed their wealth. >> that's what they do jon fugelsang with stephanie miller's sexy liberal comedy tour. good luck tomorrow night. okay? ? >> looking forward to. >> a lot of fun. thank you for joining us. you are a great guy. >> everyone impeach president reagan retroactively for agreeing on the assault weapons ban. have a great weekend. >> doing a great job at "viewpoint." great onstage. an incredible comedian.

>> a gifted economic jon nichols. >> work on your jokes. >> bill: friend of bill here for the hour. >> this is "the bill press show." just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. hershey's simple pleasures chocolate. 30% less fat, 100% delicious.

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current tv, it's been all building up to this. >>bill shares his views, now it's your turn. >>i know you're going to want to weigh in on these issues. >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow and on twitter at bpshow.

>>i believe people are hungry for it. [ music ] >> this is "the full court press: the bill press show," live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: on a friday morning, twelve minutes before the top of the hour and into the weekend, we go. can't go into the weekend, however, would you tell us jon nichols in studio with us as a friend of bill. i just want to reference one

more time the loss of a great journalist pauline phillips whom we know as a great journalist passed away at the age of 94. a wonderful lady. "new york times," one of her classic letters on the front page today, someone wrote ed wrote back: dear abbey, my wife sleeps in the raw. them she showers brushes her teeth and fixes our breakfast still in the buff. we are newly weds so there are just the two of us. there is really nothing wrong with it. what do you think? abby writes, dear ed, it's okay with me but tell her to put on an apron when she is frying bacon. >> i love that. she and her sister. >> she and her sister friends and great advice -- >> very progressive. >> yes. i met her through democratic -- >> her sister left one of the

first joe must go campaigns against joe mccarthy. >> her sister, i am blanking on her. abbey and -- who is it? you talked about it? ann landers. >> yeah. right. >> between the two of them they were actually really -- and i think actually, their liberalism, if you will subtly brought through advice to people, helped a lot of people through a lot of stuff. >> indeed. president obama sworn in on sunday, and then on monday president obama was swore in it was botched and he was sworn northwestin the next day and he will be sworn in on sunday because his term runs out before the official day. barack obama will be the first president to be sworn in four times since what president? >> franklin roosevelt.

>> all right. wins the prize? >> let me give you this. how about this? he is the first president, first democratic president since franklin roosevelt to be elected with more than 50% twice. he is also the first president since dwight eisenhower to be elected twice with more than 51%. >> there you go? >> ranken was above. a mandate. >> a second term. will we see any difference in his second term? what's the second term going to look like? i know you are talking about that with some folks in columbia? >> i will be up at the university of district of columbia with a great event organized by progressive democrats of america, national nurses united, communication workers, a lot of unions bringing together all sorts of folks. keith ellison will be there as well as a lot of other folks talking about this. i think obama can be different. the question is: will he? >> he was showing good signs?

>> the transition has been one of the better trigs in modern history. he took on the whole fiscal cliff thing and was strong. i think came out of it pretty well. not personalbut pretty well. >> bill: guns. >> here is something about the gun issue, he led from the heart, not the head. proposals were sound and thoughtful. there is an emotional core to this. i think barack obama will be a highly successful president if he realizes: a, that the american people actually like him. they like him quite a bit. there is a small portion who hates him. a lot like him. if he leads from his heart more if he shows a little more of, you know, look. i am doing this because i really believe in it, elgin to connect with something he talked about in the 2008 campaign, which many on the left criticized him 4. in 2008, he said, you know they asked: who is your role model? who would you look to as president? he said ronald reagan.

what was reagan's success? when reagan took on big issues people believed that reagan believed it. >> right. >> they thought it was sincere and he was taking them to this new place because he really emotionally connected with it and intel he can't julie as well. i think obama if he does that can really have the ability to -- >> you have written about this and also realize he has does a have a mandate. >> that's important. understanding a mandate is a lot different than saying it. democrats, liberals love to say obama has a mandate. i don't think they even believe t they should. the fact of the matter is, as i said before, first president since ice enisenhower to be elected with more than 50%. got a 5 medical yon vote margin, overwhelming landslide in the electoral college. the senate races went better for democrats. 1.4 million people voted democratic than republican for the house. there is simply no question the

people went to the polls in a referendum election given a clear choice and chose to give barack obama power. >> he has the mandate. he has to act on it. john nichols, great to have you in studio. follow john nichols at "thenation.com or on twitter twitter @nichols skb up riserising. >> this is "the bill press show" look at that sparkle! now that's clean! cloudiness! spots! tough stains! even dishwasher build-up! gone! just like that! so don't give up. add finish power up. wow! see the difference! it's a must have!

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with twizzlers the twist you can't resist. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. [ music ] >> the parting shot with bill press, this is "the bill press

show." >> bill: a quick parting shot on this friday january 18th. what can you say about the story of manti te'o except it's probably the weirdest story you ever heard in your life. nothing as up. he said she was his close girlfriend. he never met her. he said she was in a coma dying from leukemia yet he talked to her eight hours on the phone. now he claims he is a victim of a giant hoax perpetrated all of this time on him by somebody who only pretended to be his girlfriend when the fact, again, she never even existed. the way i see it, manti te'o may be a great line baker but he is either naive, confused stupid or a big fat liar who knowingly conned reporters in to believing his sob story so he was get the heisman trophy. i suspect he is a big fat liar. folks, that does it for this week. come on back on monday. well, together celebrate the inauguration again of barack obama. have